Zacks Research Downgrades Relay Therapeutics (NASDAQ:RLAY) to Strong Sell

Relay Therapeutics (NASDAQ:RLAY) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on RLAY. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Relay Therapeutics from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group began coverage on shares of Relay Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, July 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $29.00 target price for the company. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on shares of Relay Therapeutics from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Relay Therapeutics from $21.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Relay Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $28.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.92.

Relay Therapeutics Stock Performance

RLAY opened at $19.09 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $3.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.16 and a beta of 1.67. Relay Therapeutics has a one year low of $3.03 and a one year high of $20.79. The business’s fifty day moving average is $16.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.66.

Relay Therapeutics (NASDAQ:RLAY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.41) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.35) by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $3.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.58 million. On average, analysts predict that Relay Therapeutics will post -1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Sanjiv Patel sold 48,199 shares of Relay Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.58, for a total transaction of $943,736.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 615,898 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,059,282.84. This trade represents a 7.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Thomas Catinazzo sold 17,717 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.69, for a total transaction of $331,130.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 159,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,985,615.36. The trade was a 9.98% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 426,127 shares of company stock valued at $7,426,087 over the last three months. Insiders own 5.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Relay Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Commodore Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Relay Therapeutics during the second quarter worth about $46,191,000. Casdin Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Relay Therapeutics by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Casdin Capital LLC now owns 13,003,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,010,000 after buying an additional 1,662,193 shares during the period. Perceptive Advisors LLC boosted its position in Relay Therapeutics by 412.3% during the first quarter. Perceptive Advisors LLC now owns 9,751,141 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,024,000 after acquiring an additional 7,847,896 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Relay Therapeutics by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,691,445 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,990,000 after acquiring an additional 295,701 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bellevue Group AG grew its stake in Relay Therapeutics by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 8,345,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,564,000 after acquiring an additional 114,740 shares during the period. 96.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Relay Therapeutics

Relay Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of precision therapies for oncology. Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the company was founded in 2016 with the goal of targeting dynamic protein motion using an integrated scientific platform. Relay Therapeutics leverages computational modeling, structural biology, and experimental validation to identify small-molecule drug candidates that modulate the behavior of disease-associated proteins.

The company’s core business activity centers on its proprietary drug-discovery engine, which combines high-performance computing—including molecular dynamics simulations—with advanced experimental techniques such as cryo-electron microscopy and biophysical screening.